ASDesign: A User-Centered Method for the Design of Assistive Technology That Helps Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Be More Independent in Their Daily Routines

COVID-19 has posed new physical and mental challenges for the population worldwide, establishing social and structural changes in the labor market that could be maintained and implemented permanently. This new reality will require new strategies to improve family and work conciliation, which is espe...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Cañete-Yaque, Raquel, Peralta, Estela
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2022
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/130886
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/130886
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010516
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Assistive technology
Smart products
Autism spectrum disorder
Self-managed tasks
Confinement periods
Inclusive design
Description
Summary:COVID-19 has posed new physical and mental challenges for the population worldwide, establishing social and structural changes in the labor market that could be maintained and implemented permanently. This new reality will require new strategies to improve family and work conciliation, which is especially challenging for families with children suffering from psychological pathologies such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These changes have led to more frequent and intense behavioral problems, causing stress, anxiety, and confusion for these children and their families. Thus, the need to have tools that help parents reconcile work with the care of these children, who have low autonomy, is reinforced. This work develops a method for the design of assistive technology and smart products to support children with ASD in following a routine and managing tasks autonomously. In this way, the article analyzes the design problem including the needs and preferences of children with ASD and their parents during confinement in terms of dependence and adaptability; develops a design method for interactive and smart products focused on children with ASD in confinement situations; and validates this method in a case study, in which a robot is developed that makes it easier for children with ASD to follow a routine.